Representatives of the Governments of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China as well as over 300 Russian and Chinese entrepreneurs from major companies took part in the 3^rd Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum.

The Forum was attended by Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Han Zheng, Executive Secretary of the Presidential Commission for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov, Head of the State Energy Administration of the PRC Zhang Jianhua, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the State Electricity Corporation of China.

This list has once again confirmed the Forum status as the most important platform for shaping the key areas of energy dialogue between Russia and China.

The Forum was held at two venues in Moscow and Beijing, with a videoconference taking place between the two venues.

Strategic cooperation

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping sent their greetings to the Forum participants, in which they positively assessed the results of Russia-China energy cooperation in recent years and outlined the strategic guidelines for its further development.

"The relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are at an unprecedentedly high level," said Russian President Vladimir Putin in his greeting, read out by Igor Sechin.

"An important component of these relations is energy cooperation, which has developed quite significantly in recent years," the document says.

The Russian President's greeting notes that the Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum is an effective mechanism of direct dialogue between the companies of the two countries operating in various sectors of the fuel and energy complex. "This year's agenda of the forum is, as usual, very rich. Importantly, it includes topics such as the development and implementation of energy-efficient technologies and the development of green energy," the document says.

"I expect that your discussions will be constructive and substantive and will make it possible to outline new promising forms of partnership cooperation - for the benefit of our countries and peoples," the Russian President said in his greeting.

President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping in his greeting to the Forum participants recalled that the countries in 2021 solemnly celebrated the 20th anniversary of signing the China-Russia Treaty on Good Neighborhood, Friendship and Cooperation and achieved new fruitful results in promoting comprehensive strategic interaction and practical cooperation in all areas.

"We are ready to make common efforts with our Russian partners to form a closer partnership in the energy field, jointly ensure energy security and counter the challenges of climate change," said the Chinese President in his greeting, which was read by Han Zheng, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.

"The holding of the China-Russia Energy Business Forum is an important agreement between the leaders of the two countries," the Chinese President said. Xi Jinping also expressed confidence that the forum would be an excellent platform for exchanging views and reaching consensus, and would facilitate the launch and implementation of new projects.

Energy dialogue

Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Presidential Commission for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security and CEO of Rosneft, presented a report on the development of the energy dialogue between the two countries at the opening of the 3rd Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum.

Igor Sechin noted that the trade turnover between the countries in the first 9M of this year amounted to $98.9 billion, which is 24% higher than in the same period of the pre-crisis 2019 and allows to expect that by 2021 the volume of mutual trade will reach a new record level of $130-140 billion.

"The task set by the leaders of our countries to increase the trade turnover to $200 billion by 2024 must be fulfilled," said the Executive Secretary of the Fuel and Energy Commission under the President of the Russian Federation.

Igor Sechin stressed that the achieved trade volumes between Russia and China create a significant potential for the development of mutual settlements in yuan and rubles.

"The US Federal Reserve's policy of quantitative easing - essentially flooding the global economy with excess money supply - reduces the dollar's attractiveness as the main currency of international settlements and questions the use of the dollar as a secure means of payment. "Expanding settlement practices in national currencies will help increase predictability in the global economy and strengthen the balance of payments of our countries," Rosneft's head said.

"China's success in energy sustainability has been achieved, among other things, through the development of energy dialogue between our countries. Russia is not only a neighbor but also a close friend of China, the most reliable supplier of energy resources. Bilateral vertically integrated chains in oil and gas production, processing, transportation are being developed," Igor Sechin stressed out.

According to Igor Sechin, the long-term agreements between the two countries are a foundation not only for the energy, but also for the economic security of both countries, ensuring a sustainable development.

"This year's crisis has clearly demonstrated that the reliable functioning of energy systems is ensured through long-term contracts that minimise price volatility," said the head of Rosneft.

The Executive Secretary of the Presidential Commission on the Fuel and Energy Complex expressed confidence that energy will retain a key role in Russia-China relations in the long term, as Russian companies are increasing their focus on supplying consumers with green energy with a low carbon footprint, which is fully consistent with the long-term energy vision of both countries.

IN THE SPIRIT OF A COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP

"Russia and China, acting in the spirit of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, including those of the business communities, will be able to achieve new successes in energy cooperation, to promote further development of the energy transformation of the two countries for the benefit of our nations," said at the opening of the Forum Mr. Han Zheng, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China,

"I hope the forum will be an excellent platform for exchanging views and launching new projects. I assure you that you can always count on the strong support of the Chinese and Russian governments," Han Zheng said.

"It is important to deepen the comprehensive model of cooperation, to stimulate the coordinated development of all areas of interaction, including trade, investment, technology and services," said Han Zheng, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. He said financial cooperation should be further boosted, settlements in national currencies should be expanded, and comprehensive multifaceted and multi-level financial support should be provided for energy cooperation.

"Green and low-carbon transformation in the energy sector should be promoted. As responsible powers, China and Russia have set targets to achieve carbon neutrality no later than 2060, counting on mutual support to deepen cooperation on renewable energy, hydrogen energy, smart energy," Han Zheng said.

The vice premier of China's State Council commended the Russian side for its work on the China-Russia Energy Cooperation Investment Atlas. "We in our turn will speed up our work on the Chinese part of the Atlas and provide Russian companies with better information on the Chinese market situation," assured Han Zheng.

FORUM RESULTS

48 Chinese and 42 Russian companies attended the Forum from the oil and gas, power generation, coal mining, nuclear and renewable energy industries, heads of federal executive bodies, power equipment manufacturers, representatives of the financial sector and the IT industry.

At the event, prospects and areas of practical cooperation between the two countries were discussed, and numerous bilateral meetings were held. An important outcome of this interaction was the signing of 20 key agreements between Russian and Chinese companies.

An important event of the Forum was the presentation of the unique Atlas of Russian-Chinese Energy Cooperation Investments, which was developed by Rosneft with the support of the Russian Ministry of Energy and in cooperation with the companies that are members of the Forum's Organising Committee.

The participants of the event discussed the key issues of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, such as: financial assistance for integrated energy cooperation; implementation of low-carbon projects in the conventional energy sector; cooperation in the field of smart and green energy; promotion of technical innovation and development of digital technologies in the fuel and energy sector.

Representatives of the Chinese side spoke about the possibilities of integrating wind, solar and hydrogen power generation, as well as the financing of such projects. The representatives of the business community were interested in the proposals to expand maritime and railway export channels between Russia and China, which would allow expanding bilateral cooperation in the coal industry.

Reports from the Russian side on the prospects for cooperation between the two countries in the nuclear energy sector and opportunities for cooperation in the gas sector as key areas for the achievement of the climate goals aroused particular interest.

The annual Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum allows the authorities and business representatives of the two countries to develop and strengthen cooperation, setting the main directions of the energy dialogue.

Rosneft Department of Information and Advertising
29 November 2021

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